Insurance companies typically provide policy holders with an insurance identification card, which may serve as proof of insurance and provide basic policy and contact information. When a consumer purchases an insurance policy, the underwriting insurance company often issues a paper insurance identification card and sends the paper insurance identification card to the consumer via a postal or parcel service. The paper identification card includes information with respect to the insurance policy at the time of purchase and can be a useful item when the consumer, i.e., the insured, physically possesses the paper insurance identification card.
However, paper insurance identification cards have a number of limitations. For example, any change in the insurance policy immediately renders the most recently issued paper insurance identification card useless. In turn, reissuing and mailing any subsequent paper insurance identification card is a slow process during which the insured may need the subsequent paper insurance identification card. Further, if the insured does not physically possess a current paper insurance identification card (e.g., whether the paper insurance identification card was intentionally left behind or the insured is awaiting its arrival in the mail) at a time of need, the issuing and mailing of the paper insurance identification card will be perceived by the insured as providing no benefit.
In addition, companies, such as insurance companies, spend significant time and incur substantial expenses servicing consumer or insured requests for paper identification cards or paper insurance identification cards. Thus, it would be desirable for policy holders and for insurance companies if an alternate mechanism existed for providing access to real-time policy information of an insurance policy.